We are pleased to introduce a new school in Northern Thailand, that we are now supporting through our Children’s Project. It was an amazing coincidence that we happened to find out about this little school. During our visit at Baan Phae School, one of the teachers came to talk to us upon our arrival. This was his last day there, as he was about to become a headmaster in a small, remote school called Baan Khun Mae Tob.
The teacher invited us to visit his new school and join a little party to celebrate his first day as a headmaster. We were going to be in the area for the next few days and therefore, gladly accepted his invitation. Baan Khun Mae Tob School is located in a deep valley, about one-hour drive from Mae Sariang town in Mae Hong Son province. The road down to the valley was extremely narrow and steep.
Arriving to the school
Upon arriving to the school, we quickly understood why the headmaster had invited us. It was obvious that such a remote and small school rarely received visitors, not to mention donations. With only 20 students and 5 teachers, this is one of the smallest schools in the province. Many of the students come from poor families. Moreover, six students’ families live in such a remote area that it’s more convenient for the students to stay overnight at the school during terms, rather than travel between home and school daily or even weekly.
It was no surprise, that donations from Elephant Hills’ guests were warmly welcomed. Based on our discussion with the headmaster, we had gathered a selection of stationery, educational toys, simple English books and clothes. The polite and shy children first hesitated to approach the table full of donations, but soon they were eagerly exploring the stationery brought from all over the world. Everyone got to select a toy, or a craft set and were given some of the stationery and clothes.
Exploring the school grounds with the kids
After the donation event we sat down to have lunch, which was specifically prepared for celebrating the new headmaster. Afterwards, the children had completely conquered their shyness and showed us around in the school grounds. We were impressed by the school’s resourceful efforts, despite their very limited budget. They had a small duck farm and had tried to raise catfish in their small pond.
In the future, they would like to become more self-sustainable and improve their animal husbandry and gardening project. They would like to grow their own vegetables, raise more fish and maybe pigs and frogs too. To make this happen, more help is needed, for example in a form of equipment and seeds. This part of Thailand also gets very chilly during the winter seasons. Hence, more warm clothes would hugely benefit the children in this remote village.
We are looking to visit this school again during our next trip to the mountainous Mae Hong Son province, and further support the kids’ education. We are thankful for our guests for taking time to view our “Pack with a purpose” list to see what kind of items are most needed at the schools we support. If you, or your company would like to get involved, please contact us at projects@elephanthills.com to discuss the options.
